Experts tell us what to do with potatoes before cooking to make mashed potatoes tasty and melt in your mouth
For delicious mashed potatoes, it’s not enough to just throw them in a pot of water and boil them. British cookery experts claim that using one simple ingredient before cooking the vegetable helps improve the texture of the dish. Experts have shared a hack on how to make mashed potatoes puffy and smooth.
How to improve mashed potatoes
Culinary experts say that in order to get a light and fluffy texture, the root vegetable should be soaked in cold water before cooking, writes British tabloid Express.co.uk.
Potato experts at Potato Goodness explain, “Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch, which prevents the potatoes from cooking evenly and also creates a sticky or gummy texture on the outside of the vegetable.”
Cold water, experts say, should be used because hot water reacts with the starch and makes it difficult to separate it from the potato. They recommend soaking sliced and peeled potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes before cooking, but you can leave them longer.
The publication Simply Recipes even advises using ice water to soak the vegetable. “Fill a large bowl with cold water and a handful of ice. Put the peeled potatoes in the water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes, although one hour is ideal,” say the experts.
You then need to gently remove the potatoes with your hands or using a sieve to avoid hitting the starch at the bottom of the bowl. The mash turns out much lighter and fluffier than if cooked without soaking.
Why do you add an egg to mashed potatoes?
Some housewives, in order to get delicious airy mashed potatoes, also add a raw egg to them. How to do it:
- You need to cook the mash and let it cool down a little;
- beat in the egg and mix.
Important: before adding to the puree, it is recommended to wash the egg with baking soda and scald it with boiling water. Raw egg should not be used for baby purees.
